


From A Certain Child's Point of View: The Gunslinger

by Lailuva



Series: From The Child's Point of View [5]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Adorable Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV), Alternate POV, Baby Yoda POV, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Peli Motto is awesome, since Toro points a gun at the baby, this fic will absolutely be dragging Toro because he's a jerk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:08:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23788336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lailuva/pseuds/Lailuva
Summary: A firefight sends him and his dad down to the surface of a yellow, dusty planet.  There it's time to meet new friends, and make new enemies.
Relationships: Baby Yoda & The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV), Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV) & Peli Motto
Series: From The Child's Point of View [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1592260
Comments: 159
Kudos: 374





	1. The Firefight

He likes space. The stars are so pretty, and sometimes Dad will tell him their names. There are lots of buttons to push if he wants Dad’s attention. He knows Dad doesn’t want him doing that, though, so he only does it if Dad doesn’t listen to him the first time. He even has a new not-a-pod-or-a-crib now. He used to sit in the chair just like Dad, but when he fell out and hit his head and cried, Dad made him a new box. He likes it, because now he doesn’t have to be up on the dashboard to see, and because it’s nice and comfy enough to nap in. When Dad gives him the silver ball he can pretend to fly the ship, just like Dad.

It’s not as nice as the skughole. But it’s not bad.

Without a sun and moons he can’t tell how many days go by, and there were too many for him to count on the skughole anyway, but they have been in space for a while. Dad will sometimes land on a planet to “resupply,” but he doesn’t get to leave. He goes to sleep in the bunk while Dad is still there, and when he wakes up Dad is there but usually smells different and has brought new things. Dad is always there when he’s awake, and that’s what matters.

They are in space again right now. Dad is in his chair, flying the ship, and he is in his box. Dad had given him something brown and yummy and his tummy is full now, and his eyes keep drooping shut. He yawns just as Dad looks back.

“You sleepy?” asks Dad.

_ No, _ he tells Dad.

“Let’s fly a few more minutes. See if that puts you out. I’m hungry,” says Dad, and the ship goes a little faster.

The mystery of Dad eating has gotten complicated again. Omera does not take him away so Dad can eat anymore, and he still never sees Dad eat, but sometimes he can smell food on Dad. Dad must be eating, but he still never sees the helmet off. He wonders what’s underneath.

The box is nice and comfy, and the ship’s engines are humming so nicely, and his eyes are drooping more and more closed…

Suddenly there’s blaster noises! The whole ship shakes and red lights streak across the stars!  _ Dad! _ he squeals,  _ Dad, what’s going on?! _

Before Dad can answer another voice crackles through the ship. “Stand down, Mandalorian. This is Riot Mar. Hand over the child.”

“Fucking shabuir,” grumbles Dad. He glances back. “Hang on.”

He grabs the edge of his box. Dad turns the controls and the ship turns hard, way harder than it ever has before! More red lights flash overhead with blaster noises. Blasters in space? He sort of remembers it, maybe. They shouldn’t be here, though. Dad does not let him go near blasters.

The ship shakes; the blasters are hitting it! But Dad keeps flying. “Hand over the child, Mando,” repeats the voice on the comm.

Suddenly a huge blast shakes the ship, hard enough to slam him against the side of the box, and sparkles fly through the cockpit! “I might let you live,” says the voice.

He clings to his box as another blast shakes the ship so hard his box rattles. Dad tied the box very tightly to the chair so he would not fall, though, and the box stays where it is. He likes it when Dad flies the ship fast enough to shake the box, but not this time!  _ Dad! _ he whines. He wants this mean person to stop shooting them!

Dad is busy and does not even look at him. There is another big blast and the ship yells at Dad with loud beeps; the picture of the ship on the dashboard starts glowing red.

“Hold on,” says Dad, so he does, and then the ship turns round and round and round. Dad has done this before but not when someone is shooting at them, and this time it’s scary instead of fun. He holds tight to his box.

“Come on, come on,” grumbles Dad. Dad is starting to get worried. It makes him worried too.

“I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold,” says the comm voice.  _ That _ makes Dad mad, and suddenly he pulls the ship to a stop! He lurches forward, barely holding on to the box and keeping himself from tipping out of it, and looks up just in time to see another ship fly over and ahead of them.

“That’s my line,” says Dad, and he blasts the ship into a big explosion of pretty sparkles.

It’s hard to enjoy because the whole ship is yelling now. The dashboard is full of red lights, and loud beeps are all screaming at Dad, who is pressing all the buttons in the way he’s not allowed to.

“We’re losing fuel,” says Dad, and suddenly the whole ship goes dark. He giggles. The ship has never done this before! It’s fun!

Dad looks back at him.  _ What? _ He can tell Dad does not think this is fun, though, and stops laughing. Dad hits all the buttons again before finding some in the back and pressing those. The cockpit is full of red light, and when Dad presses more buttons on the dashboard again, the lights all come back on.

_ How come I can’t do that? _ he asks, but Dad doesn’t answer.

There is a planet in the distance, a gold-colored one. The ship starts flying towards it, this time much more slowly and gently. Slowly, the planet gets bigger. It has grey moons hovering over its yellow-gold surface. It looks kind of like the planet where Dad found him, all dry and rocky and dusty.

Another voice, a different one, comes over the comm. “This is Mos Eisley tower. We are tracking you. Head for Bay 3-5, over.”

“Copy that,” says Dad. “Locked in for 3-5.”

_ Copy that, _ he tells the voice too.

Dad sighs a big sigh and leans back in his chair before turning around to look at him. “So much for a few days off from hunters.”

Now that all the exciting stuff is over, he feels tired again. He can’t hold in his yawn.

“Come here,” says Dad, and before he’s even reached out his arms Dad has picked him up. “Let’s get you to sleep.”

But they are going to a new planet!  _ Can’t I go?  _ he asks, blinking his eyes and trying - and failing - to swallow another yawn.

Dad doesn’t answer, instead taking out his blue blanket from the box and spreading it out on the empty chair before laying him on it and wrapping him that way Omera taught Dad. Now he is all snug and tight and warm.

Dad holds him as he flies the ship closer and closer to the yellow planet. Dad tries to rock him but keeps getting distracted by the ship beeping at him. He doesn’t mind. The ship is shaking enough it’s like he’s being rocked anyway, and he can watch as the dusty surface gets closer and closer. Now he can see rocks like the one on the planet where Dad found him. He even sees a big building like the mean people had! He can’t point because his arms are wrapped up but he tells Dad.

“Shh, shh,” says Dad, rocking him again. “You go to sleep.”

He doesn’t want to go to sleep, but Dad did say so, and the ship is rocking so nicely, and his tummy is so full, and his blanket and Dad’s arms are so nice and warm…

He will close his eyes for just a moment. Just a moment, then he can ask to go with Dad again. Just a moment…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It really amuses me to think that part of the reason Din's so mad is goddammit, I was JUST about to get him to sleep.  
> Oh and if you'd like to see my headcanon of how the new car seat came to be, or just want to read about #1 Dad Din Djarin accidentally yeeting his baby, [here you go](https://archiveofourown.org/works/22027306).
> 
> I waited a week to start updating to rebuild my buffer a bit. In penance, please enjoy this behind the scenes look at writing this fic:  
> 
> 
> Next time: WHERE'S DAD????


	2. The Mechanic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He can't find Dad, but he does find a new friend.

At first he doesn’t feel the need to open his eyes. He’s wrapped in his blanket, all nice and comfy and warm. He can feel that he’s in the bunk now, not in Dad’s arms, but that’s okay. Dad is nearby like he always is, and -

Wait.

He can’t sense Dad.

He opens his eyes. He is in his bunk where Dad puts him to sleep, wrapped tightly in his blue blanket. The door to the bunk is shut and he can’t see out, but that doesn’t stop him from knowing who’s here. He reaches out with the sense he has no name for, searching, searching - but he gets confirmation that Dad is not here. Dad is gone!

Dad  _ left _ him again.

Dad left sometimes on the skughole, of course. But then he’d had Winta or Omera or Cara with him, and Dad had told him that he was leaving and that he would come back. Dad didn’t say he was coming back this time. But he always did, right? But what if he didn’t? Dad didn’t say he was coming back! And the last time Dad didn’t say he was coming back, he’d ended up with scary Glasses and all the White Armors!

And he saw one of the mean people’s big buildings out on the planet. What if they came to steal the ship again? What if they put blue sparkles all over Dad again and made him fuzzy-sleepy or Gone and then Dad  _ never _ came back?!

He starts to cry. He has to find Dad!

He kicks and struggles his way out of the blue blanket and walks over to hit the door.  _ Open! _ he tells it, but it does not open. He knows it opens. He has seen Dad open and close it, both when he’s in it and when he’s not. There’s a button that opens it. Maybe when the door opens, he will be wrong, and Dad will be there.

He can picture the button in his mind. He can picture himself pressing it.  _ Open! _ he says, and the door does.

Dad is not there.

Why did Dad leave him? He doesn’t want to be alone… He can’t help it; he cries again. He just wants Dad.

He has to find Dad. He slides out of the bunk and lands on his bottom. It hurts, but he starts walking anyway, still sleepy and stumbling. Dad didn’t ever say  _ not _ to leave the ship, and maybe Dad is nearby?

“I’d stay in that ship if I were you!” someone yells. It’s not Dad’s voice. Maybe it’s someone nice, like his friends on the skughole?

He makes it down the ramp and pauses to look at who it is. It’s a human, smaller than Dad, in brown clothes and with brown poofy hair, with three droids around her. Poofy Hair has a blaster in her hands, but he doesn’t sense any feelings that are mean or bad. Maybe she is nice? He would really like a friend…

She hands her blaster to one of the funny-looking droids and walks up to him. She smells kind of like Dad, like oil and metal.  _ Have you seen my Dad? _ he asks.  _ I want my Dad. _ He reaches up. He really wants her to be nice. And he really, really wants someone to hold him right now, and if Dad isn’t here, she’ll have to do.

“Now, now,” she says, stepping up close. “Let Peli take a good look at you.” She picks him up, looking at him and the ship, but then she smiles. “All right. There you go.”

_ Hi, _ he tells her. Peli is not as good at holding him as Dad is, but it’s not bad, not at all.

“Did that bounty hunter leave you all alone on that big nasty ship?” asks Peli.

_ No, my Dad did, _ he says as Peli brings him close and starts to bounce him a little. It’s so nice, so much nicer than being all alone.

One of the droids chatters in a funny language. “Oh, how do I know what it is? Gimme a second,” snaps Peli, but even though her voice is mean, she doesn’t feel mad. She gives him a big smile again. “All right. Would you like some food? Are you hungry?”

_ I want Dad. _ He looks around, but he can’t see Dad, not even the shine of his armor. Where did Dad go? Why did Dad leave him?!

“Fetch it something to eat, quick!” Peli orders one of the droids. It chatters at her, and she says “Oh, I don’t know, something with bones in it,” and it runs off.

_ Where’s Dad?! _ he demands. Hasn’t she seen him? How could she  _ not _ see him? _ He’s big and tall and shiny. Where’s my Dad?! _

“Shh, shh,” says Peli. “Now here’s the plan.” He looks back at her and she continues, “I am going to look after you until the Mandalorian gets back.”

The Mandalorian! That’s what Winta and everyone else called Dad! She  _ has _ seen Dad! And she said he would come back!  _ Dad’s coming back?! _

“And then, I’m going to charge him extra for watching you,” she says with a big smile. She brushes dirt off his face and chucks his chin. Omera did that once and he liked it. “See how that works? Yeah, Bright Eyes?” She plucks at his ear, but it’s a nice touch and doesn’t hurt.

_ Bright Eyes? _ No one’s called him that before. It doesn’t sound mean, though.

“We’re a team,” says Peli with a big smile.

Team. He knows that word. Sometimes he would be a team with Winta when they played ball with the other children. Friends are on teams. Peli is on his team. Peli is a friend? She isn’t being mean. She hasn't hit him. And most important, she says Dad is coming back.

_ Dad is on my team when he comes back, _ he tells her.

“Oh, I know,” she says, and her voice really does sound very nice, and he likes how she bounces him too.

Peli carries him as she walks back around the ship. “Well, if you’re around, he’s sure gonna be finding himself a way to make some creds,” she says, pointing a tool at one of the ship’s legs. “Guess I can actually fix this mess.”

_ You can’t let the mean people take it apart, _ he tells her. _ Dad doesn’t like that. _

“Ridiculous,” grumbles Peli. “I wouldn’t let an akk dog live in this, let alone a child.”

It’s not very long before one of the droids comes back with a container that’s warm and smells like food. He’s not very hungry, but he’s not going to say no. Dad gives him food when he asks but ever since they left the skughole he hasn’t eaten until his middle is stuffed full.

“Now why don’t you sit here and enjoy your broth,” says Peli. She sets him down on a chair and pours the container’s contents into a little bowl for him that one of her droids brings. “You good, Bright Eyes?”

_ I’m good, _ he tells her.

“Good, because your womp rat papa says I have to do all the work on this bucket of bolts myself,” says Peli. “You -” She points at the droids. “Keep an eye on him.”

The droids sit at the table with him as he drinks his broth and Peli works on the ship. He doesn’t understand the chattering sounds the droids make, but they don’t understand his words either, so it doesn’t matter. Sometimes Peli yells at the droids to bring her something and they hurry over, but they do not touch the ship. That’s good. Dad doesn’t really like droids very much.

By the time he finishes drinking his broth Peli comes back over, wiping oil off her hands and onto her pants instead of onto a rag like Dad does. “That’s enough for what he’s paid so far,” says Peli. “And how ’bout you, Bright Eyes? Was that good?”

_ It was yummy, _ he tells her.  _ When is Dad coming back? _

“You sleepy? You want a nap?” asks Peli, picking him back up.

Why do people always want him to nap?  _ I want Dad, _ he whines.

“Oh, I know that look in those eyes,” said Peli. “Same one my kids had when they hadn’t had a nap. You weren’t asleep very long on that ship, were ya?”

Peli puts him in her arms and tries to rock him but it is  _ not _ the same way Dad does it and he whines at her. Then she lays him on her shoulder instead and pats his back. This is not the same way as Dad either!

“Fussy one, huh?” asks Peli. “Just like mine always were.” She holds him in her arms again. “Tell you what, they always liked a nice holostory. How ’bout that? You want a story?”

A story? The children would tell him stories on the skughole, sometimes. Winta liked to tell him stories. _ I want a story. _

“Come here,” says Peli, and she takes him inside. He fusses at first, but then he can see Dad’s ship through the big windows, even though they’re dirty, and stops. He will still be able to see when Dad gets back.

Peli starts pushing buttons on her dashboard and says one of the words Cara always said a lot, usually when she spilled her spotchka. “Oh, where’s that one they always liked? I can’t believe I don’t have some children’s holos still on this thing, suns know I had to keep ’em occupied here enough after that deadbeat ran off…”

He doesn’t understand, and reaches for Peli with his sense with no name. For a moment he can see children running around the little room. There are children here? Where? He wants to play! But after a moment he realizes he cannot sense them here. They might have been here once, but now they are long gone.

“Oh, I guess this’ll do,” says Peli. “Never understood it, but they did always like that story of that sunbaked Jedi that got cozy with the Sand People and killed a krayt dragon for ’em.”

Little blue holograms appear, a strange woman in robes with a shiny pretty sword and people wrapped all up in lots of cloth carrying big sticks. A voice is talking but the pictures are much more interesting. The woman is good at fighting. He bets Dad could still win, though.

“You like that?” asks Peli.

_ Yes, _ he tells her. Stories on the skughole never had pictures with them. Dad can make blue pictures appear on his ship but they never come with a story. Maybe Peli will show Dad how to make the stories and Dad will tell him stories too. He likes Dad’s voice very much.

He points to the pictures and Peli says “I see” every time. She doesn’t have much else to say, which is boring, and the words from the story are boring too. The pictures aren’t as boring; the woman fights a big scary monster sort of like the one Dad fought, back when he was allowed to go with Dad. He wonders if that is what Dad is doing, fighting a big scary monster.

He wishes Dad had taken him with him. Sometimes, Dad can really use some help. He will have to tell Dad he wants to come along when Dad comes back. For now, Peli’s arms are comfortable, and the voice telling the story is nice and soothing even though it’s boring. He could almost fall back asleep…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't played Knights of the Old Republic, the story Peli plays for Baby Yoda is a short version of the storyline on Tatooine in that game; Revan befriends the Sand People (if you play Light Side) and kills a krayt dragon in her quest for the Star Map. (Revan will always be a woman when I write her.)
> 
> FYI I'm gonna be switching over to weekend updates for this fic instead of Wednesdays, since No Prison Can Hold is finished.
> 
> Next time: Dad is finally found, and Peli gets a new little helper.


	3. The Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dad is off on another job, so right now it's his job to help Peli.

He is jolted suddenly and Pelli screams “I’m awake! I’m awake!” and everyone feels scared scared scared and he can’t help it, he cries!

His eyes are sticky and gunky and he hates it and tries to blink it away but it’s yucky and he cries more. “Quiet!” shouts Peli; she’s mad and the sound makes him flinch, but then he realizes she’s not mad at him. “Oh, shh, it’s okay,” she tells him, before snapping at someone else “You woke it up! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get it to sleep?”

“Give him to me,” says the most wonderful voice in the whole entire world. Dad is back!

“Not so fast!” says Peli, and he realizes she is angry at Dad. Dad is here and that’s what matters, though if Peli won’t give him back to Dad he will have to cry again, or do something else to make Dad get him.

“You can’t just leave a child all alone like that!” Peli tells Dad. She bounces him, and it’s very nice, especially now that he has blinked all the gunk out of his eyes. “You know, you have an awful lot to learn about raising a young one.”

Omera had said something like that when she was showing Dad how to swaddle him, although her voice had been a lot nicer. Peli might be sort-of-mad at Dad but she likes him, though. Peli is not going to hurt him. Maybe this is like when he would stay with Omera? Dad is supposed to tell him he’s coming back, though.

“Yeah,” says Peli, and gives him a big smile before turning back to Dad and saying “Anyway” in a very firm voice before telling Dad lots of things he doesn’t understand. Dad doesn’t talk back as Peli hits her machine and Dad gets something off the ship.

Dad comes back down as Peli mentions “an extra mouth to feed.” That’s him, he knows; he’s gotten good at sensing when people talk about him. Dad stops and looks at him.  _ Dad, can’t I go? _ he asks, but he already knows the answer. He’s not allowed to go see mean people and big buildings and other fun things anymore, because they have blasters, and Dad doesn’t want him around blasters.

“Thank you,” says Dad. Dad means it; he can sense it. He said it the same way to Omera and Cara whenever they helped him with something.

“Oh!” Peli is surprised, but not for long. Dad starts to walk away, but Peli follows. “Oh, guess I was right, you got a job, didn’t you!”

A job? Does that mean he is making mean people go away like he did on the skughole? Is he going to have to stay with Peli while there’s booms? His ears droop at the thought. He’d rather have Dad.  _ Dad, _ he whines, and when Dad doesn’t hear him over Peli talking, he says louder,  _ DAD! _

Dad stops and turns finally. Peli bounces him. “I guess you’re doing something right, since he sure likes you. No wonder he was so upset when he woke up all alone.”

“Upset?” repeats Dad.

“Thought you had a damned krayt dragon wailing on board that ship,” says Peli, bouncing him some more. “But we got you calmed down in the end, right? A nice story finally put him out.”

He can sense Dad wavering, wanting to stay with him, and he reaches out. _ Dad, I want to come! _ he says.  _ I want to go with you! _

Dad touches one ear gently. “You stay here,” Dad says. “I’ll be back.”

“Oh, he’ll be fine with me,” says Peli. “I don’t do work for free though, mind you. And looking after a kid -”

Dad starts walking away again and goes through a door. It doesn’t stop Peli from talking. “You know, it’s costing me a lot of money to even keep these droids powered up -”

“Hey Mando. What do you think? Not too shabby, huh?” says a new voice, and he looks over to see another human. This one has dark hair on his head, and the thick dark lines of hair over his eyes that humans have - eyebrows? was that what Winta called them? - look like the big fuzzy black caterpillars he and Winta found one day back on the skughole. They’re funny-looking.

Fuzzy Eyebrows is leaning on something he recognizes. A speederbike, that’s right! Yarull had one, and sometimes he and the others would talk about racing them. He can sense that Dad likes speederbikes, though maybe not these ones, since he keeps poking them.

“What’d you expect? This ain’t Corellia,” says Fuzzy Eyebrows. He turns and nods at Peli. “Ma’am.” The eyebrows wiggle as he speaks, and he pictures them crawling right off his face. The thought makes him giggle.

Dad and Fuzzy Eyebrows climb on the speederbikes and suddenly they zoom away! It’s so fast and looks so fun. Maybe if he is good, Dad will take him for a ride? He wants to go fast.  _ Do you have one of those? _ he asks Peli, but she doesn’t answer, bouncing him for a moment before sighing like Dad always does. “You know,” she tells him, “someone needs to tell your papa about leaving you with a total stranger. He’s lucky I’m nice.”

_ You are nice, _ he agrees.

“Hmm. Better get inside before we burn up.” It is very hot and the sun is so bright he keeps having to squint, and he doesn’t mind as Peli carries him inside. Once he’s inside, though, he’s tired of being carried and kicks his feet.

“Wanting to run, are we?” asked Peli. She bounces him again, and he can sense she wants him to look at her. “No running off,” she tells him in a definitely-firm voice. “And no getting in my stuff.”

He doesn’t know what she will do if he doesn’t listen. She hasn’t hit him so far, but Yarull would hit him or make him stay in the pod for a very long time for getting into things he shouldn’t, so he’d better not risk it. _ Okay. _

Peli sets him down and walks back over to the machine hooked up to Dad’s ship. It has lots of buttons to press, but she did tell him not to get into her stuff, and it’s too tall for him anyway. He shuffles over to watch. The funny droids do too, but they hop away when he and then Peli remind them Dad does not let droids around his ship.

Peli picks up a tool from a box on the ground and walks over to one of the ship’s legs. He looks inside the box and there are lots of other tools. Dad has some like that on the ship. He is allowed to make those things float and move, though not other things. One time he made the doors to Dad’s cabinet full of blasters open and it was the fastest he’d ever seen Dad come down the ladder and pick him up.

Peli said no getting in her stuff. But maybe he can help? He helps Dad sometimes and Dad lets him. He likes helping. Most of the tools are too heavy for him to lift, but he finds a small one and follows Peli over to the ship-leg. She is grumbling some words Yarull used to say and hits the ship-leg with her tool.

He can do that.  _ E chu ta! _ he says, and hits the ship leg as hard as he can.

“Hey!” He looks up and Peli is looking down at him. He drops the tool, afraid she will hit him, but she only sighs. “Well, you’re not a droid, and if you’re anything like mine were, I’d best keep you occupied. Pick it up and help me.”

He hesitates. But Peli says “Go on” in a nice voice and motions at the tool, so he picks it back up. He hits the ship-leg again and this time she smiles. “Good job, Bright Eyes.”

-

He helps Peli all day. She doesn’t work on the ship all day, but he follows her around and copies what she does. He does not get in her stuff or push any buttons, but finds that if he waits Peli will give him a tool to use, and she even lifts him to press the buttons on her machine. He carefully presses whichever one she tells him. He wants to do a good job fixing Dad’s ship.

“Normally I wouldn’t bother until he pays more, but I think he’ll pull through,” Peli says. “It’s different when you have kids, you know.”

He doesn’t know, but he says  _ I know _ anyway.

“Anyway, we can’t have you living in a junk heap,” says Peli as she walks up the ramp to start unhooking the tubes that have been connected to Dad’s ship. She looks around the inside and shakes her head. “Ridiculous.”

The tubes are too big for him to lift, and he’s already slept enough so he doesn’t help Peli lift them. Dad only really likes it when he lifts things inside the ship, anyway; even on the skughole Dad would tell him no if he tried lifting things. Following Peli is fun enough. Sometimes the droids come by and chatter at him, and he likes the sound even if he doesn’t understand the words. Peli tells them they better scatter if the Mando comes back, but lets them stay. They run when he tries to chase them, and he laughs and laughs at the funny sounds they make as he tries to catch them.

“Well that ought to do it,” says Peli, wiping her hands clean on a rag. “What say we round up some dinner, Bright Eyes?”

_ Yes! _ he says, reaching up, and she picks him up right away. She tells the droids to go get them the usual and something with bones in it, and he gets to sit on her lap while they wait. The sky is dark now, and he can see a few stars glittering far above. He wonders if Dad is looking at the stars too, wherever he is.

The droids bring back dinner and they all sit at a little table to eat; the droids don’t eat the food but they chatter with Peli, who understands their words and talks to them. He stays quiet and drinks the bone broth he got. No one understands when he talks. It used to not bother him so much, when he was with Yarull, but now that people talk to him he wishes he could talk back.

“Well, guess he’s not coming back til tomorrow,” says Peli finally. “Hopefully he’s not stupid enough to be crossing the desert at night.” She picks him up and bounces him on her knees. “Let’s get you ready for bed.”

She takes him inside, further back than before. The room is small; it has a cot and lots more boxes, and there are holos on the wall of Peli and some other people who look sort of like her but younger. She dumps a bunch of weird metal pieces out of a box and puts a pillow in it, then a blanket, and wraps him up in a blanket before setting him down inside. It’s almost like the box Dad made for him but it’s not the same. He whines. Usually Dad puts him to bed, and Dad always swaddles him like Omera taught him, and rocks him. Even when Dad puts him in his box before he’s all the way asleep, Dad always holds him for at least a little bit.

“Oh, we’re going to fuss now, are we?” asks Peli, picking him back up. She lays him down in her arms to rock him. “You just close those bright eyes. You’re all right here.”

She murmurs and then she sings, softly, words weaving a story he doesn’t understand. But her voice is nice, and he knows that with her, he is safe.

-

He wakes up in the box Peli made for him. She is still sleeping on her cot, but the droids are awake and when he climbs out of his box and starts walking to the ship, they follow him, chattering as soon as they get outside.

The sky is bright blue overhead. He searches the whole hangar and even the open ship, but Dad is not back yet. He sighs.

“Hey!” He jumps and so do the droids, but it’s only Peli. She scoops him right up and snaps at the droids, “What are you doing, letting him run around like that? He could’ve hurt himself on the scrap!”

He doesn’t like Peli’s mean voice, but at least it’s not for him and she never hits.

The droids bring him and Peli food and then he gets to help Peli some more. He tries to get her to work on Dad’s ship but she says she’s done, though she lets him grab a tool and walk around inside and hit anything that looks like it needs fixing until he gets bored with that. For a while she fiddles with some metal pieces, and gives him a few little ones with no sharp edges to fiddle with himself.

The droids bring out a pack of cards and chatter at Peli. “Another round?” she asks. “You laserbrains think you have a chance winning your bolts back?”

The cards seem familiar and suddenly he recognizes them - that’s sabacc! Yarull and his friends would play, though sometimes they would get angry and hit each other instead. Yarull never let him play but maybe Peli would. He points and tells her he wants to play too.

“All right, looks like I’m outvoted,” says Peli, and the droids chatter happily.

The droids find a tall stool for him and he gets to sit too. Peli gives him some cards. At first he puts them down whenever he wants, but one of the droids just hands it back to him. Finally he figures out he has to wait his turn, just like when he would play with Winta and the other children, and when Peli and the droids look at him he puts down one card like they do. But eventually that gets boring, so instead he throws all the cards up in the air.

“You forfeit, huh?” asks Peli. “Here you go. Consolation prize.”

It’s brown and smells funny, but he takes a bite and it’s not bad, so he eats it all and Peli gives him more when he’s finished. After that the cards are boring and Peli lets him wander around as long as he stays in her sight, though whenever he comes back she and the droids let him rejoin the game until he gets bored again. It would be more fun with his friends, he thinks. If he was back on the skughole, maybe Winta would play sabacc with him. He misses her, just like he misses Dad.

But as soon as he thinks about Dad, he hears a speederbike outside! It’s Dad! Dad is back!  _ Dad! Dad! _ he cheers, heading for the door.

Peli scoops him up and carries him the rest of the way. “About time you came back, Mando. Now, about my pay -”

The door opens, and suddenly he realizes he never actually sensed that it was Dad.

Fuzzy Eyebrows is back, alone, and he has a blaster pointed right at them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed the dragging of Toro and Baby's fun play date with Peli as much as I did writing it!
> 
> Next time: A bad guy has them! Dad, hurry up and rescue us!


	4. The Hostage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's been captured! Dad, hurry up and rescue us right now!

He waits for Dad to come through the door. Dad and Fuzzy Eyebrows had left together; wouldn’t they come back together? And Dad will be very mad that Fuzzy Eyebrows is pointing a blaster at him. No one is allowed to point blasters at him, or Dad will shoot them.

“The suns fry your brain, womp rat?” snaps Peli, but even though her voice is mean she feels scared. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“You have no idea, do you?” says Fuzzy Eyebrows. “You’ve just been babysitting the brat. You could be rich right now if you knew what he and the Mando were worth.”

“Yeah, like I give a shit,” says Peli. “This ain’t the Core; I can’t turn him in for letting the kid stay unsupervised in a janky ship.”

“Doesn’t matter,” says Fuzzy Eyebrows. “I figured it out first, and he’s my ticket into the Guild.”

He has a bad feeling about this. Fuzzy Eyebrows holds out his hand. “Give it to me.”

Peli holds him tighter. “No.”

She jumps and he cries when a blaster bolt singes past them, but when he looks back he sees Peli’s droids scattering and a black burn on the ground. “Go inside,” Peli orders them, her voice shaking. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Give it to me,” says Fuzzy Eyebrows again, holding out his hand.

Peli squeezes him tight. “He’s a skittish one,” she says. “He’ll give you trouble. He’ll be calmer with me, he knows me.”

Fuzzy Eyebrows stares, but finally waves his blaster at the ship and says “Get inside.”

“What?” Peli does not want to go in. “You’re crazy, kidnapping his kid and stealing his ship and - and -” She bounces him a little, pats his back. “The Mandalorian, is he -”

“I’m going to ambush him,” says Fuzzy Eyebrows. “Then I’m gonna deliver him and the target to the Guild and be a  _ legend.” _

He hates the sound of Fuzzy Eyebrow’s voice. No, he hates  _ all _ of Fuzzy Eyebrows! _ Fucking shabuir! _ he tells him.

But Peli walks on board the ship with him in her arms and Fuzzy Eyebrows behind them, and there they wait.

-

He has to sit on Peli’s lap. She won’t let him go, even when he whines because she’s holding him too tight. She just whispers to him that it’s okay and will pat his back nicely, even though she is very scared. Peli is nice, and he does not want her to be scared, so he stays with her for a long time even though he wants to run away instead.

Fuzzy Eyebrows stares at them and keeps his blaster pointed at them the whole time. He hates him and his stupid eyebrows. He wonders if he could move them and rip them right off his stupid face. But when he holds out his hand to try, Fuzzy Eyebrows slaps it back down and it hurts. He fusses and Peli holds his hand and tells him it’s all right. It’s not all right! He’s too slow and Fuzzy Eyebrows is much faster, with his hands and with the blaster too. He can’t do anything about it.

If Dad were here, he could, but Dad isn’t here yet. _ Dad, where  _ are _ you?! _

He can’t stand it anymore. He can’t sit! He has to find Dad! He squirms out of Peli’s grasp, ignoring her when she says “Hey!”, and runs for the exit.

But a boot comes out of nowhere and kicks him, hard. It hurts and he cries, and then suddenly a hand grasps his coat and hauls him up and he’s looking right at Fuzzy Eyebrows. He tries to swipe at his stupid eyebrows with his claws, but again Fuzzy Eyebrows is too fast and dodges him. “Stupid brat. Knock it off.”

“Leave him alone!” says Peli. “He’s just a baby, for suns’ sake!”

“It’s a bounty,” sneers Fuzzy Eyebrows. “All it is is credits.”

“Just give him back,” pleads Peli. “My grip just slipped for a moment, that’s all, just give him back.”

“I think he’s fine with me,” says Fuzzy Eyebrows. He tries to escape but Fuzzy Eyebrows holds him tight, and when he whines Fuzzy Eyebrows jabs the blaster at his middle. “Shut up,” he says. “He should be here soon.”

He hopes Dad will be back soon. He hopes Dad will make Fuzzy Eyebrows  _ Gone! _ He  _ hates _ him! He hates him  _ so much! _

But he is distracted when he senses a familiar presence. His ears perk up so high they feel like they’re going to fly off his head. It’s Dad! Dad is coming!

“Get up,” says Fuzzy Eyebrows, pointing his blaster at Peli. “Get in front of me.”

“I can take the kid,” says Peli, but before she can finish, Fuzzy Eyebrows says “Move!” and waves his blaster at her. Peli does what he says, even though she is scared. He wishes she could hold him, and whines, but Fuzzy Eyebrows squeezes him so hard it hurts, and he stays quiet.

He can hear footsteps, quiet steps, but he reaches out with his sense with no name and it’s Dad. He’s sure of it this time! Dad is coming to keep him safe. Dad will make Fuzzy Eyebrows Gone!

“Took you long enough, Mando!” says Fuzzy Eyebrows. He pokes Peli in the back with his blaster, making her walk forward. They step out of the ship and now he can see Dad. Dad has his blaster pointed at them, but that’s different. Dad won’t miss.

“Looks like I’m calling the shots now, huh, partner?” says Fuzzy Eyebrows, still walking forward and making Peli walk forward too. “Drop your blaster and raise ’em.”

Fuzzy Eyebrows stops. Now Dad will shoot him.

But Dad puts his blaster on the ground and puts his hands behind his head! Even Fuzzy Eyebrows is surprised.  _ Dad, what are you doing?! _

Fuzzy Eyebrows jabs Peli with the blaster. “Cuff him.”

_ Leave her alone! _ he tells Fuzzy Eyebrows, but Fuzzy Eyebrows just looks at him and then ignores him. He wishes he was bigger. He wishes he had a blaster! If he had a blaster, Fuzzy Eyebrows would never be able to be mean to Peli and his Dad!

“You’re a guild traitor, Mando,” says Fuzzy Eyebrows. “And I’m willing to bet that” - Fuzzy Eyebrows points the blaster in his face even when he tells him  _ Don’t! _ \- “this here is the target you helped escape.”

He has to stop Fuzzy Eyebrows. He stopped the scary monster, and right now Fuzzy Eyebrows is looking at Dad and not at him. He made the monster lift up in the air, but on the skughole he pushed the cot that fell down back up. He can push Fuzzy Eyebrows. Fuzzy Eyebrows is talking now, and only thinking about himself. Fuzzy Eyebrows isn’t paying attention to him anymore, and won’t be fast if he can’t see anything coming. He concentrates. He can do it. He can make Fuzzy Eyebrows go away.

The sense with no name warns him and he closes his eyes as a bright white flash fills the air. Fuzzy Eyebrows shouts and shoots his blaster, grabbing him too tight again, but doesn’t turn in time to see where Dad is with his blaster. He does, though, and he sees Dad shoot, and suddenly the world spins around and around as Fuzzy Eyebrows falls. Finally he squirms out of Fuzzy Eyebrow’s grasp and runs, and doesn’t stop until he’s hidden behind a big crate.

He can see Dad and Peli walk over to Fuzzy Eyebrows. “Stay back,” says Dad, but Peli ignores him. “Gotta get it!” she says. He watches as Peli looks around and Dad flips over Fuzzy Eyebrows. Dad is making sure that Fuzzy Eyebrows is Gone, but he already knows. The sense with no name tells him, and even if it didn’t, he knew Dad would’ve made Fuzzy Eyebrows Gone with one shot for pointing a blaster at him, just like he did to Droid.

“Where is it?!” says Peli, and she and Dad are both looking all over the place on the ground. They are looking for him! And if Fuzzy Eyebrows is Gone, there will be no more blaster shooting and he can come out.  _ Here I am, _ he says, peeking out from behind the crate.

“There you are!” says Peli, and she is so happy to see him. He reaches out for her. “Are you hiding from us, huh?” she asks, picking him up. “Look at you.”

Peli isn’t hurt, and he is glad. Peli is very nice and a friend. Was this what Dad meant, that they had to leave the skughole because other people would’ve tried to hurt Winta and his friends, like Fuzzy Eyebrows had tried to hurt Peli? He wouldn’t want any of them to be hurt.

“It’s all right, I know, that was really loud for your big old ears, wasn’t it?” says Peli, bouncing him so nicely. It’s not the way Dad does it, but that’s okay, he decides. He likes the way she bounces him too.

_ It wasn’t too loud, _ he tells her.  _ It was very bright though. _

“It’s okay. Shh, shh,” says Peli. She plays with his ears gently again, and he feels a lot better. Peli feels better too. Maybe they can play some more? Maybe he can help fix the ship, or they can play sabacc with the droids?

But then Dad is there.  _ Dad! _ he says, but before he can ask Dad to hold him, Peli says “Be careful with him” and finally hands him over. He is back in Dad’s arms, warm and safe, just where he’s supposed to be, and now that he’s here he never wants to leave again. It feels like it’s been forever, and Dad is so glad to hold him and see him again too.

“So I take it you didn’t get paid,” says Peli after a moment. She gives Dad a big sigh, though he can sense she really isn’t that mad.

But Dad holds out a pouch that clinks and dumps a whole bunch of metal bars into Peli’s hands. Peli is very happy to see them!

“That cover me?” asks Dad.

“Yeah,” says Peli, “yeah, that’s gonna cover you.”

It’s time to go, he knows. There were blasters at the skughole and they left, and now there were blasters here so they will leave. _ Bye, Peli, _ he tells her as Dad turns away and walks up the ramp of the ship. He hears Peli yelling for her droids as Dad carries him inside and up to the cockpit. Usually Dad puts him in the box, but this time Dad holds him in one arm while he flies the ship with the other. He doesn’t mind. He likes Dad holding him.

They fly up to the stars, the gold planet starting to shrink behind. Dad bounces him a little, kind of like Peli did. “Was it loud?” Dad asks. “Loud for your… your big old ears?”

_ What? _ he asks.

“Too loud for your big…” Dad sighs. “Oh, forget it. You good, womp rat?”

_ I’m good, _ he tells Dad.

“Good,” says Dad, and Dad holds him close for a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's Episode 5. Hard to believe we're over halfway through!
> 
> Next time: MEAN PEOPLE TO THE MAX. He doesn't like these bullies and how they treat his Dad! (Be mindful of your feelings, Baby Yoda....)
> 
> Reminder that each episode is its own work, so please subscribe to the series if you want updates. Meanwhile you can find me at [my Tumblr](https://ooops-i-arted.tumblr.com/). I have a [sneak](https://ooops-i-arted.tumblr.com/post/617338503800455168/i-was-astoundingly-productive-on-baby-yodas-pov) [peek](https://ooops-i-arted.tumblr.com/post/617491809150566400/glamorousgamine-said-baby-shaking-his-fists) of Episode 6 up, if you're interested.


End file.
